1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information transmitting device such as an information transmitting device suitable for use in the cargo handling management of freight containers and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
To smoothly manage cargo handling in a large-scale collection area for freight containers (hereinafter referred to as a container yard), it is considered important for a manager to grasp the location of each container.
The reason for this is, when a container is not in its intended location and is placed in a wrong location, the manager is required to search for the container, wasting labor and time.
Various conventional technologies exist with regard to the above-described container management.
For example, in Japanese Patent No. 3085468, a self-propelling container handling device is described including an imaging device for reading an identification code (such as an owner code or a serial number) on a container and a detection means for detecting the location of the container (such as that using a global positioning system [GPS]).
This self-propelling container handing device collects owner codes, serial numbers, and the like, as well as placement locations, and transmits the collected information to, for example, a computer installed in a department managing the container yard.
Also, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) Publication No. 2006-124182, an invention is described in which a plurality of cameras placed in a container yard monitors the status of the overall area of the container yard.
However, in a technology using the above-described self-propelled container handling device, the main components (imaging device and detection means) for collecting information are only included in the “self-propelled container handling device”. Therefore, there is an inconvenience in that information on containers carried by a handling device other than the self-propelled container handling device, such as a large-scale handling device referred to as a gantry crane, cannot be collected.
More specifically, containers transported by a ship are unloaded from the ship using a gantry crane, and each of which is temporarily placed in a random location to shorten the berthing time of the ship. Therefore, a problem occurs in that, when moving these temporarily placed containers to designated locations using the above-described “self-propelled container handling device”, the management department does not know the locations thereof, and time is wasted in searching for the containers.
In the above-described technology in which a plurality of cameras placed in a container yard is used, although the status of the overall area of the container yard can be monitored, information on individual containers (owner code, serial number, etc.) cannot be obtained. Therefore, the individual locations of temporarily placed containers cannot be known.